This is way sooner I was expecting to write a blog to all of you. I´ll start at the beginning and work my way up to this point in time; how does that sound? :)
We left Monday morning as planned in a taxi for Pocoata. It was on that ride that for some reason my muscle started acting up and was bothering me (for those that don´t know, I tore my pelvic muscle during training in February and returned to the States to get it diagnosed and rehabbed). I didn´t think too much of it then as I was looking forward to our five week trip into the communities. But by the time Wednesday rolled around, it was hurting me just to walk with my backpack. We found a small village called Turwiriya to stay in until my muscle got better (like it usually does) but by Friday it was still hurting just as much as Wednesday. By this time I was worried about re-tearing it and being out of action for the months it would take to heal all over again. Our boss, Trent, told us to return to Sucre so I could start strengthening it again before it tore out there in the communities. So here I am…
Even though this was my shortest trip thus far, I believe I learned the most during/from it. I had some very bleak days mentally as a result of this injury, much to my partner´s, Javier, chagrin. Hehe I had even brought up the possibility of a transfer because it seemed I couldn´t do the minimal physical work required for our team. Dark times indeed… I felt so betrayed by my body breaking down on me (in the middle of a trip nonetheless) that a couple of times all I could do was cry. After quickly tiring of that, I turned to God to comfort me. And comfort me He did. I won´t go into all the details but He showed me that even though I was `broken´ in my eyes He still loved me (for all of me, brokenness included) and wanted to use me. Also as a result of having to stay in that village, we made some great Christian contacts who are ready and eager to help us with our work in the area in the future.
I guess my biggest prayer request right now is my health once again. Please pray for a speedy recovery so I can get back out there. Also pray for our team as well (Javier and me); this injury coming back to affect me changes pretty much all of the plans we had. Pray that we have patience and wisdom during the coming weeks. Please keep in your thoughts and prayers Graham and Efraín as they have had a little difficulty reaching their village with the stories. Pray that hearts will be opened and people see the glory and love of our Lord.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Third Trip!
Good evening everyone. It has been a couple of weeks since I last updated my blog but as nothing has been going on that would warrant much attention, I figured that I would save all of you from reading another droll update. But as of this morning, we have great news! Trent, our boss, gave us the green light to head back out to the communities; thanks for all of y´alls prayers! We are leaving on Monday, the 20th, pretty early at 8am straight for Pocoata. On Tuesday, we will start our trek back into the villages to continue looking for a man of peace who will share his house and food with us for over a month this time. We are planning to stay out until the end of November, around the 28th, when I will head to Peru to meet my family for a small vacation.
This morning my partner and I had virtual missions to practice encountering a Quechua man on the hike. It was very fun because we used a Quechua that we are good friends with and the requirement was we could only speak Quechua during this simulation. I was a little nervous because Trent was filming it as well so we could go over and critique our performance afterwards. During take one, Javier dominated the conversation but on take two I was able to do the majority of the talking to Simón, our friend. Afterwards, we went to town to buy ponchos for the cold and to blend in more with the Quechua and we also got a haircut :( haha… It was necessary said our Quechua contact.
Please be praying for us to encounter a man of peace on this trip as it is our third and we still have yet to find one. It has been getting a little discouraging to be honest. But I have high hopes and faith that the Lord will guide us to someone eager to hear about His glory. We will also need your help with prayers for us to understand and learn Quechua some more while we are in the village. We are going to share the creation and the fall of man stories (Javier has creation and I am sharing the fall) during our time there so please pray for the people to be receptive to them, and enthusiastic to hear more. Finally pray for our other team as well, Graham and Efraín. They are in Quchumi with a vice president of the IMB, Ed Cox, for a couple of weeks. Ed is returning to the States at the end of October, and then the team is heading back to Quchumi for a while longer. Thanks to all of you for your support and prayers. I can´t wait to share all that God did on our trip when we get back!
This morning my partner and I had virtual missions to practice encountering a Quechua man on the hike. It was very fun because we used a Quechua that we are good friends with and the requirement was we could only speak Quechua during this simulation. I was a little nervous because Trent was filming it as well so we could go over and critique our performance afterwards. During take one, Javier dominated the conversation but on take two I was able to do the majority of the talking to Simón, our friend. Afterwards, we went to town to buy ponchos for the cold and to blend in more with the Quechua and we also got a haircut :( haha… It was necessary said our Quechua contact.
Please be praying for us to encounter a man of peace on this trip as it is our third and we still have yet to find one. It has been getting a little discouraging to be honest. But I have high hopes and faith that the Lord will guide us to someone eager to hear about His glory. We will also need your help with prayers for us to understand and learn Quechua some more while we are in the village. We are going to share the creation and the fall of man stories (Javier has creation and I am sharing the fall) during our time there so please pray for the people to be receptive to them, and enthusiastic to hear more. Finally pray for our other team as well, Graham and Efraín. They are in Quchumi with a vice president of the IMB, Ed Cox, for a couple of weeks. Ed is returning to the States at the end of October, and then the team is heading back to Quchumi for a while longer. Thanks to all of you for your support and prayers. I can´t wait to share all that God did on our trip when we get back!
Saturday, October 4, 2008
A Time of Growth
As most of you know, our team has been grounded for quite some time now: one team member has been here in Sucre for over two months now, and I have been here for a little over three weeks. We´ve been `grounded´ here because of the situation with the government, and their anti-American stance as of late. So to make the best of our situation, the four of us living in our wonderful pink house began studying the Bible, a chapter a day. We get together usually right after lunch and discuss with each other what the chapter means to us, verses that touched us, and any past experiences we had- positive or negative- with regards to the chapter of the day. These sessions take any where from 45 minutes up to close to two hours; it all just depends on what we each feel led to share.
Today´s chapter happened to be 1 Corinthians 4. As I read it, I feel like I was almost reading the chapter for the first time (even though there were notes scribbled next to the chapter from the last time I read it). It was like God opened my eyes, and showed me a situation which Paul was in that seemed like what I was going through in this moment. Verses 12 and 13 are the ones that really stood out to me in this chapter: ¨When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.¨ As I read it, I realized that I was feeling the same way. The government here is slandering North Americans to the common people. Apparently, we are at fault for all of the problems here in Bolivia… I had no idea… The local governments have now begun to mildly persecute missionaries from North America as well. Just last week, the government of Chuqisaca, of which Sucre is the capital in which we live, kicked out of the country some North American missionaries who were handing out food to the poor. The president applauded them for doing so; it`s a big deal when the president and local government are uniting on some fronts, usually they´re at each other´s throats. Reading what Paul had wrote has encouraged me greatly, because I have been questioned by countless people why we are still here. I can say we are enduring the persecution against us, still hoping to be able to shine the light of the Gospel in our province to the lost people that need Jesus. We will wait it out as long as possible and God has been using this time to bash (chip is far too small a word) away the parts of my life that really need to be transformed so I can more effectively serve him in whatever way He wants me to.
Please be praying for us as we continue to endure the situation here. Also, for patience and protection here in Sucre. Thank you so much for your suport! I´ll be sure to keep you updated with any new information.
Today´s chapter happened to be 1 Corinthians 4. As I read it, I feel like I was almost reading the chapter for the first time (even though there were notes scribbled next to the chapter from the last time I read it). It was like God opened my eyes, and showed me a situation which Paul was in that seemed like what I was going through in this moment. Verses 12 and 13 are the ones that really stood out to me in this chapter: ¨When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.¨ As I read it, I realized that I was feeling the same way. The government here is slandering North Americans to the common people. Apparently, we are at fault for all of the problems here in Bolivia… I had no idea… The local governments have now begun to mildly persecute missionaries from North America as well. Just last week, the government of Chuqisaca, of which Sucre is the capital in which we live, kicked out of the country some North American missionaries who were handing out food to the poor. The president applauded them for doing so; it`s a big deal when the president and local government are uniting on some fronts, usually they´re at each other´s throats. Reading what Paul had wrote has encouraged me greatly, because I have been questioned by countless people why we are still here. I can say we are enduring the persecution against us, still hoping to be able to shine the light of the Gospel in our province to the lost people that need Jesus. We will wait it out as long as possible and God has been using this time to bash (chip is far too small a word) away the parts of my life that really need to be transformed so I can more effectively serve him in whatever way He wants me to.
Please be praying for us as we continue to endure the situation here. Also, for patience and protection here in Sucre. Thank you so much for your suport! I´ll be sure to keep you updated with any new information.
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